Pacific Northwest Ballet

History

Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 following the two-month residency of the First Chamber Dance Company, | access-date = January 10, 2012 as part of Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association. Under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, originally of New York City Ballet, | access-date = January 3, 2012}} it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. | access-date = April 23, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071112163944/http://www.pnb.org/company/company.pdf | archive-date = November 12, 2007 Stowell and Russell left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. | access-date = April 23, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080228152051/http://www.pnb.org/company/about.html | archive-date = February 28, 2008 A portrait by artist Michele Rushworth was painted of Stowell and Russell and installed in the Phelps Center, Seattle, to commemorate their careers and retirement. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine. |author-link=Alastair Macaulay

In July 2005, Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as artistic director following their retirement. After dancing with the New York City Ballet for 22 years, he had been a full-time faculty member at The School of American Ballet from 1995-2005.

In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in sixteen years. The New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, stated of their presentation that "This is a true company," more "unified in its understanding of Balanchine" than the New York City Ballet.{{cite news |author-link=Alastair Macaulay | access-date = 17 February 2013}}

In 2012, PNB brought in Twyla Tharp as its first artist in residence for a year-long residency.{{cite news | access-date =4 October 2013 | archive-date =29 September 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130929055654/http://crosscut.com/2013/09/23/arts/116543/air-twyla-tharp-pacific-northwest-ballet/ | url-status =dead

Pacific Northwest Ballet School

The Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded in 1974. | access-date = April 23, 2008 Formerly directed by Francia Russell, and now directed by Peter Boal, it has been considered to be "one of the leading, if not the definitive, professional training school in the country." The teaching is structured on that of the School of American Ballet. | access-date = January 10, 2012 Pacific Northwest Ballet holds an annual summer course in the month of July and is considered one of the leading summer dance education facilities in the country.

Dancers

Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes.{{cite news | access-date = 20 March 2013}}

Principals

Soloists

Corps de ballet

• Luca Anaya
• Malena Ani
• Emerson Boll
• Dylan Calahan
• Ryan Cardea
• Mark Cuddihee
• Ashton Edwards
• Melisa Guilliams
• Connor Horton
• Zsilas Michael Hughes
• Rosalyn Hutsell
• Kali Kleiman
• Larry Lancaster
• Audrey Malek
• Noah Martzall
• Joh Morrill
• Ginabel Peterson
• Samuel Portillo
• Juliet Prine
• Yuki Takahashi
• Genevieve Waldorf
• Lily Wills
• Destiny Wimpye

Notable former dancers

• Rachael Bade

• Patricia Barker

• Maria Chapman

• Karel Cruz

• Brent Davi

• Lindsi Dec

• Chalnessa Eames

• Laura Gilbreath

• Carrie Imler

• Carla Körbes

• Stanko Milov

• Louise Nadeau

• Kaori Nakamura{{cite news

• Noelani Pantastico

• Lesley Rausch

• Julie Tobiason{{Cite web |access-date=16 November 2024}}

• Miranda Weese

References

Reviews

• NY Times by Alastair Macaulay, November 5, 2007
• NY Times by Alastair Macaulay, September 25, 2007
• Sunbreak Magazine by Rosie Gaynor, June 14, 2011
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer by R. M. Campbell, September 26, 2003

References

1. "Pacific Northwest Ballet's ''Nutcracker''".
2. Campbell refers to the organization as the Pacific Northwest ''Ballet'' Association.
3. "Rachael Bade".